Privacy Policy

National Validation Services is a renowned Background Screening Company, which means we manage a large amount of personal data. We are committed to appropriately using Personal Information to benefit you and society. We have created this Privacy Notice to let you know about all of the processing activities you may anticipate from us, how we protect your Personal Information, your rights under applicable Data privacy legislation, and how you can exercise those rights. When National Validation Services determines the manner and purpose for which information is processed, i.e., when we are the Responsible Party, this notice applies.

This notice is for all potential, present, and previous vendors, clients, consumers, and suppliers of National Validation Services and outlines how we collect, use, and manage your information in accordance with the terms of our relationship. Although National Validation Services may refer to this privacy notice in your contract with National Validation Services, it is not a part of any contract you have with us. We may edit this notice at any moment, but if we do, we will provide you with a copy of the updated notice as soon as reasonably possible. We may also notify you about the processing of your personal information in other methods from time to time.

We value your privacy and are committed to being open and honest about how we gather and handle your personal data. You may contact our Data Privacy Office at info@nvs-sa.co.za if you have any questions about this privacy notice or your privacy rights in general.

Our Privacy Guideline

National Validation Services makes every effort to follow all applicable data privacy laws. To guarantee that we respect your right to privacy, we strive to adhere to the following standards when processing Personal Information. Personal information about you must be:

  • collected for lawful purposes and used only in processing activities that are compatible with those purposes; limited to what is necessary to achieve lawful purposes.
  • accurate and up to date.
  • only retained for the period necessary to achieve our collection purposes and meet any applicable legal obligations; and
  • protected from unauthorised access.

The Most Important Data Privacy Terms to Understand This Notice

“Consumer Credit Information” means information concerning—

  • A person’s credit history, payment, or default patterns under any such credit agreements, debt re-arrangement under the National Credit Act, incidence of enforcement activities with respect to any such credit agreement, the circumstances of any such credit agreement’s termination, and related matters
  • A person’s education, employment, career, professional, or business history, including the circumstances of any employment, career, professional, or business relationship termination, and related matters; or
  • A person’s identity, including name, birth date, identification number, marital status, past and current addresses and other contact information, and related matters.

All information in a business credit report is referred to as “Incorporated in a Business’ Credit Report,” which includes, but is not limited to:

  • Identifying information such as the company’s name, registration number, physical address, postal address, and tax identification number.
  • public information, such as judgements, sequestrations, and rehabilitation, as permitted by law
  • account history/payment profile, which includes a list of all your credit/service provider accounts as well as a payment history.
  • information on current and inactive directors
  • data from the main bureau (including credit score).
  • possession of properties
  • inquiries from the past

“All information in a consumer’s credit report is referred to as “information incorporated in a consumer’s credit report,” which includes: • identifying information such as your name, surname, identity number, physical and postal address, current and historical contact numbers, marital status, past and current employer(s), and occupation.

  • credit account history/payment profile: This includes a list of all your credit accounts as well as a payment history.
  • prior credit/service provider inquiries on your credit report that you approved or authorised under the NCA to get your credit report.
  • Qualifications and educational background
  • As permitted by law, publicly available information such as judgements, sequestrations, and rehabilitation.
  • Financial information, such as property records, CIPC status, and companies held;
  • Ownership information, including property records, CIPC status, and companies held

The “Controller,” also known as the “Responsible Party,” establishes the purposes and means for processing Personal Information, or how to collect, retain, and use your Personal Information.

“Personal Information” refers to information about a person who can be identified (including natural and juristic persons, such as companies and trusts). Your Personal Information refers to information that directly identifies or pertains to you. Consumer credit information is included in personal information.

“Processing” National Validation Services may collect, receive, record, organize, collate, store, update, retrieve, read, process, analyse, use, and distribute your Personal Information in the ways described in this privacy notice (“processing”). When we carry out one or more of these acts with your Personal Information, we are “processing” it.

“Special Personal Information” includes information, not limited to your health or sexual life, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, criminal behaviour, or trade union membership, as well as biometric information. We limit the use of Special Personal Information to what is essential to achieve a legal goal. Only when we have a clear legal rationale for processing Special Personal Information, as required by applicable laws and internal regulations, will we process it. National Validation Services has put in place procedures and safeguards to ensure that when we process Special Personal Information, we adhere to the strictest privacy requirements.

The Gathering of Your Personal Data

When processing a consumer’s Personal Information under the NCA, National Validation Services restricts the gathering of Personal Information to only that which is permissible under the NCA and is required by our customers for credit/service applications for them to make informed judgments. We also gather

Personal Information from our customers and vendors to fulfill contractual obligations, legal needs, or operational purposes.

Personal Information

Purpose for processing

Consumer Credit Information**

Performing our duties in terms of any agreement with consumers, execute our duties and responsibilities as a registered credit bureau, as well as complying with legal obligations relating to our business.

Information Incorporated in a consumer’s credit report**

To form a view of consumers as individuals and to identify, develop, or improve products that may be of interest to consumers, conducting market research, business, and statistical analysis, performing administrative functions, assisting in the making of credit decisions about consumers, performing duties in terms of any agreement with consumers, operating and managing consumers’ accounts, and managing any application 

Information Incorporated in a business’ Credit Report**

The information incorporated in a consumer’s credit report serves the same purpose(s) as that of the consumer credit report

IP address, how you interact with our site, and your internet browser are all examples of device and website usage.

Helps us better identify our customers/potential clients, manage website functionality, and increase marketing.

Names and contact information for Vendors/Suppliers, as well as Identity numbers, company registration numbers, business information and directors’ information, banking information, and other financial information.

Verifying information and executing appropriate checks, fulfilling obligations under an agreement with the vendor or managing the parties’ commercial relationships, paying invoices, and adhering to the National Validation Services’ regulatory and other requirements are all part of the purpose.

Prospective client’s information

Verifying and updating information, pre-scoring / contractual pre-contract screening, and direct marketing, if we have valid consent, are all activities related to the processing of a prospect’s information.

Mother’s maiden name, username, and password are examples of security information.

To simplify the secure use of our platforms, assist with any queries you may have, and effectively identify yourself when you contact us.

In addition, we ensure that our retention policies adhere to all applicable legal requirements.

Personal Information is obtained from the following sources:

  • One of our sources of Personal Information is the Data subject, i.e., the person or organization to whom the Personal Information refers.
  • Businesses involved in fraud investigations; • anyone who offers goods, services, or utilities to consumers, whether for cash or on credit.
  • Educational establishments
  • Book debt collectors who have been given or sold book debt by a creditor.
  • Any other credit bureau that is registered

The types of Personal Information we process, as well as the purposes for which we process it, are listed below.

We must collect and use certain personal information in order to complete our pre-contract vetting process, supply you with the product(s) or service(s) you’ve requested, and provide you with the best possible service when you engage with us or use our products and services. We’ll also collect information about you and the devices you use to access our website, or we’ll ask third parties to do so on our behalf, in which case we’ll employ technologies like cookies.  We can only use your Personal Information for the purposes for which it was collected, or for a purpose that is compatible with those purposes, as stated above.

What legal grounds do we have for processing your personal data?

We will only use your Personal Information in line with applicable Data Privacy regulations, which require us to have at least one legal basis for processing. We rely on a variety of conditions for the actions we perform, depending on the context of the processing activity.

  • Where we need to perform under an agreement that we have concluded with you, such as to meet our responsibilities under a contract that we have concluded.
  • When we are required by law to do so.
  • If you have given your agreement to such processing; or

In rare cases, we may process your Personal Information where:

  • we need to protect your interests (or another person’s interests).
  • we need to do so in the public interest; or
  • Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your Personal Information. 

When you interact with our website, employees, products, or services, we collect the following information:

  • Website: Certain Personal Information is collected via crucial cookies in order for our website to function properly. When you first visit our website, we will inform you of these circumstances. When we use non-essential cookies or technologies like cookies, and/or gather information about the device you use to access our website, we ask for your permission beforehand. We occasionally use the help of third parties to carry out these tasks on our behalf. Before accessing our website, you will be prompted to consent to the usage of non-essential cookies, but you are not required to do so. Non-essential cookies are used to handle information on a voluntary basis.
  • Interaction with our staff: When you contact National Validation Services for assistance, we will request some Personal Information from you, such as a copy of your ID for verification purposes. Although providing this information is not required, failing to do so may have a negative impact on the level of service you receive.
  • Products or services: When you inquire about or apply for National Validation Services products or services, we will require you to give some Personal Information so that we can enter into a contract and offer the products and services. This information is required for us to efficiently manage our connection and meet our duties. If you do not supply the necessary information, we may be unable to enter into a contract with you.

Is it necessary for me to disclose this Personal Information?

If you are a “consumer” under the NCA, National Validation Services is required by law to collect and process your Consumer Credit Information (which counts as Personal Information). You will not be required to supply your Consumer Credit Information in this case, as it will be acquired directly from original sources of Consumer Credit Information.

The Security of Your Personal Information

We use recognized technological standards to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of your Personal Information, and we take the appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the integrity of the information we are responsible for. We take all reasonable precautions to prevent the misuse, loss, alteration, or destruction of your Personal Information.

We have put in place adequate security measures to guard against accidental loss, unauthorized use, alteration, access, or disclosure of your Personal Information. Furthermore, we restrict access to your Personal Information to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who require it for business purposes. They will only process your Personal Information in accordance with our instructions and are bound by strict confidentiality obligations.

We periodically examine our data collection, storage, and processing policies, as well as physical security measures, to ensure that we are adhering to industry best practices and standards.

National Validation Services has implemented procedures to address any suspected data breaches and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where National Validation Services is legally required to do so within the period in which National Validation Services is required to issue such a notification.

Retention of Your Personal Information

We will only keep your Personal Information for as long as it is required to fulfil the objectives for which it was acquired. That is, we will keep your Personal Information if we need it to offer you with the National Validation Services products and services you have requested, or as long as we need it to provide marketing services to our customers, and no longer. We may also preserve it to fulfil our legal duties, resolve disputes, and exercise our rights.

In compliance with the NCA’s data retention periods, National Validation Services keeps your Personal Information on the information database. The NCA Regulations, for example, mandate that we only display and use various categories of your information for the maximum periods specified for credit scoring or credit evaluation. We make sure that this information is not displayed for these purposes for any longer than is necessary.

Certain aspects of your information are kept for as long as they are needed to verify the integrity of data that we may be obliged to handle in the future or for data quality reasons (i.e., to prevent the re-loading of incorrect information). This data is securely saved and used solely for the purpose of ensuring that the data we have is relevant, correct, and not duplicated, as required by our regulatory obligations.

The reasons why retention differs from one record or piece of information to the next are dependent on the storage purposes as well as related operational business requirements and/or legal responsibilities, the length of time we store your Personal Information may differ.

In all situations, our need to utilize your personal information will be re-evaluated on a regular basis, and data that is no longer needed for any purpose will be discarded.

Sharing Your Personal Information

As a rule, we will only disclose your Personal Information to those who require it for us to fulfill the purpose for which it was acquired, or to comply with a legal obligation. Internally, we will only disclose your Personal Information with employees who “need to know,” that is, employees who require access to the information to complete work on our behalf.

National Validation Services will only reveal Customer Credit Information with the consent of the consumer if the NCA requires it. National Validation Services is bound by Section 68 of the NCA, which requires us to use a consumer’s or potential consumer’s information solely for the purposes allowed by the NCA or other applicable legislation. Only the customer, prospective consumer, or another person will receive or receive information from National Validation Services:

  • in accordance with the NCA or other applicable legislation.
  • in response to the consumer’s or potential consumer’s instructions; or
  • in accordance with a court or tribunal’s ruling.

Internally, we will only disclose your Personal Information with parties who have a “need-to-know” basis, i.e., those who require access to the information to complete a task on our behalf, such as:

  • various divisions to share content and services including registration, transactions, and customer service, to aid in the identification and prevention of potentially illegal conduct and policy violations, and to influence decisions about our products, services, and communications.
  • our service providers under the contract that help supply certain goods or assist with parts of our business operations, such as fraud prevention, marketing, and technology services, in which case we will seek to require the affiliates to honour our privacy policy.

Information Flows Across Borders

Our personal information is kept in South Africa.

We may also and/or possibly store and transmit your Personal Information to a central database located outside of the borders of South Africa for the purposes of performing centralized tasks for our Group of companies.

We shall take the necessary efforts to ensure that your personal information is appropriately protected in that jurisdiction if the central database is located in a country that does not have identical laws that give the same degree of protection to your Personal Information.

We may hire service providers to help us run our business, and they may be located outside of South Africa or use data centers there. When your Personal Information is transported over international borders, it will be protected to the same extent as outlined in this notice

Your rights

This section is only for exercising your privacy rights as defined by privacy legislation. The NCA regulates all credit bureau information, and all requests for bureau information should be handled through the NCA’s consumer dispute process.

You may have rights with relation to your Personal Information under applicable Data Privacy regulations, which you may exercise in certain circumstances. To exercise these rights, please send an email to info@nvs-sa.co.za

You may be able to:

  • Request confirmation of the Personal Information we have on you. This right allows you to obtain confirmation of the types of information we have on you.
  • Submit a “data subject access request” to gain access to your personal information. This allows you to obtain a copy of your Personal Information held by National Validation Services.
  • Withdraw consent to process your Personal Information at any time if we are depending on it.

Please contact the National Validation Services Information Officer if you wish to exercise any of these rights.

We will not charge a fee to have access to your Personal Information (or to exercise any of the other rights). If your request for access is plainly baseless, unreasonable, or a request for a thorough report on all information we may hold on you, we may charge a fair price.

We may need to ask you for additional information to verify your identity and validate your right to access the material (or to exercise any of your other rights). Another acceptable security precaution is to ensure that Personal Information is not revealed to anybody who does not have the authority to receive it.

Maintenance of your Personal Information

We invite you to help us preserve the accuracy of Personal Information by alerting us of any changes or fulfilling your legal obligations in relation to any pending disputes.

When Personal Information is submitted to National Validation Services under the NCA, we cannot change the information reported by providers of Personal Information unless the provider of the Personal Information confirms that the information is incorrect or incomplete

If you disagree with the correctness of your Personal Information that National Validation Services has on file, we have mechanisms in place to ensure that such information is validated and, where necessary, rectified or changed. Please see the section above about your privacy rights.